Big Sister: Fifteen year old girl who has a special attachment to her cat. Tomboyish in both appearance and manner.

Little Brother: Ten years old and extremely rebellious. Likes to defy rules and talk back to his mother and big sister on purpose.

Little Sister: Eight years old and the apple of Mother's eye. Utterly devoted and spoiled by her mother.

Mother: Mother of all three kids and still young looking although with a few strands of white in her hair.

Setting: The stage shows a veterinarian's office. The front of the office merely consists of a doorstep and door. The rest of the stage has been blocked from view by the wall of the veterinarian's office. The wall is split in two, to be raised later in the play.

*Scene 1*

[Spotlight lights up on the narrator as she stares into the distance.]

Narrator: I'd never know what it was like to lose a family member before. When my grandpa died, I was merely eleven and had not known him well, so I never gave his death much thought. But when Shadow died, there was no one to jump into my lap while I was doing homework, no one to butt her head against my hand while I was watching a movie, no one to jump onto my bed in the middle of the night and settle herself on my blanket. I missed her dearly…

[Spotlight fades out, lights come on onstage]

[Voices from offstage]

Big Sister: Oh! Watch out! She's slipping!

Little Brother: Let me hold her! It's not fair, I want to carry her too!

[Big Sister comes from stage left holding her cat bundled up in a blanket. A black furred tail can be seen sticking out. The rest of the family follows.]

Big Sister: No! You'll just drop her, and she'll get hurt. Get the door for me, please.

[Little Brother crosses his arms while Big Sister sighs. Little Sister rushes forward to pull the door open.]

Big Sister: Thank you, dear.

[She moves to enter, but stops and backs up]

Big Sister: Shouldn't we ask if we can bring her in first? There might be a rule against having animals in there without a carrier.

Little Brother: That's stupid.

Mother: I'll go in and ask.

[Mother goes through the door and into the office while Little Sister and Little Brother trail after her, leaving Big Sister to stand on the doorstep and wait. After a few minutes, Little Sister runs back out]

Little Sister: [Holding the door open] She said it was alright to bring her in.

[As Big Sister and Little Sister walk through the door, the first part of the wall slides up, revealing a waiting room. Several other people are also waiting, including a young man with a German Shepard and a young lady with a beagle. As Mother fills out some forms at the receptionist's desk, Big Sister settles herself on a bench, careful not to jar the bundle of fur on her lap. Little Sister and Little Brother seat themselves on either side of her and they all peer at the cat on Big Sister's lap]

Little Sister: [Tearfully] Will she be okay?

Big Sister: Of course she'll be. Don't talk like that.

Mother: [Frowning at the forms in her hand] How old is our cat?

Big Sister: We've had her for about … three years now? We don't know how old she was when she came to us though.

[Big Sister notices that Little Brother is playing with the cat's tail. She slaps his hand away]

Big Sister: Don't touch her tail, you're annoying her.

Little Brother: [Pokes her tail roughly] Touch, touch.

[Big Sister slaps his hand away again. They're saved from further bickering when the receptionist calls their name. They all stand up and file through the door into the hallway leading into the third room. The second wall slides up, revealing a stainless steel examination table in the middle of the room along with a few chairs and posters of animals on the walls. Big Sister carefully deposits her beloved cat onto the table and strokes her fur while trying to soothe her. Little Brother and Little Sister climb onto the chairs to look at the posters of different dog breeds. All the lights except for the ones in the examination room fade out. After a while, the vet comes in and introduces himself and the family gathers around the examination table]

Vet: A pretty old cat you've got there.

[He takes out some medical instruments and proceeds to give the cat a basic check-up. He finds nothing wrong with her eyes and ears, but stops when he hears her breathing]

Vet: Hmm, her breathing seems to be labored. [He takes out a penlight and looks down her throat] Ah, her throat is sore.

[He then starts to move his fingers over her abdomen. He stops and frowns when he feels something in her kidneys. After thoroughly examining her, he pulls off his gloves and shakes his head]

Vet: [Sighs] She's really sick. She'll probably die sometime within the next two days.

[Everybody gasps. Lights fade out and spotlight appears on narrator who looks on the scene with pain in her eyes]

Narrator: We hadn't realized it would be so serious…

[Spotlight fades out and stage lights come back on]

Mother: Exactly what is wrong with her?

Vet: [Names an extremely complicated medical term having to do with cancer in the kidneys]

Mother: Is there nothing you can do for her?

Vet: We can perform surgery, but that is not only expensive, but extremely risky and is not guaranteed to succeed. Even if it did, it would only prolong her life by a few months. The best thing would be to … put her to sleep now.

[It is silent for a few moments. Then Big Sister speaks up]

Big Sister: Do it.

Little Brother: What?

Big Sister: I said do it. She's going to die anyways.

[She walks out, trying to hide tears. The vet looks at Mother]

Vet: Ma'am..?

Mother: [Nods at him] Do it then.

[They all start to cry, especially Little Sister, who starts to sob loudly on the table. Vet carefully bundles the cat up, and takes her out of the room. The lights fade out and curtain closes]

*The End*